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Of Body and Brush: Grand Sacrifice as Text/Performance in Eighteenth-Century China
Contributor(s): Zito, Angela (Author)
ISBN: 0226987280     ISBN-13: 9780226987286
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
OUR PRICE:   $98.01  
Product Type: Hardcover
Published: February 1998
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Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Annotation: The Qianlong emperor, who dominated the religious and political life of eighteenth-century China, was in turn dominated by elaborate ritual prescriptions. These texts determined what he wore and ate, how he moved, and above all how he performed the yearly Grand Sacrifices. In "Of Body and Brush," Angela Zito offers a stunningly original analysis of the way ritualizing power was produced jointly by the throne and the official literati who dictated these prescriptions.
Forging a critical cultural historical method that challenges traditional categories of Chinese studies, Zito shows for the first time that in their "performance," the ritual texts embodied, literally, the metaphysics upon which imperial power rested. By combining rule through the brush (the production of ritual texts) with rule through the body (mandated performance), the throne both exhibited its power and attempted to control resistance to it. Bridging Chinese history, anthropology, religion, and performance and cultural studies, Zito brings an important new perspective to the human sciences in general.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Asia - China
- Social Science | Anthropology - General
Dewey: 951.032
LCCN: 97012362
Physical Information: 0.94" H x 6.21" W x 9.3" (1.33 lbs) 332 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
The Qianlong emperor, who dominated the religious and political life of eighteenth-century China, was in turn dominated by elaborate ritual prescriptions. These texts determined what he wore and ate, how he moved, and above all how he performed the yearly Grand Sacrifices. In Of Body and Brush, Angela Zito offers a stunningly original analysis of the way ritualizing power was produced jointly by the throne and the official literati who dictated these prescriptions.

Forging a critical cultural historical method that challenges traditional categories of Chinese studies, Zito shows for the first time that in their performance, the ritual texts embodied, literally, the metaphysics upon which imperial power rested. By combining rule through the brush (the production of ritual texts) with rule through the body (mandated performance), the throne both exhibited its power and attempted to control resistance to it. Bridging Chinese history, anthropology, religion, and performance and cultural studies, Zito brings an important new perspective to the human sciences in general.


Contributor Bio(s): Zito, Angela: - Angela Zito is associate professor of anthropology and religious studies, director of the Religious Studies Program, and co-director of the Center for Religion and Media, all the New York University.